


One of Us

by skaoi



Series: Godson [7]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Deckerstar - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9825401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skaoi/pseuds/skaoi
Summary: Lucifer watches the steel in Chloe's spine harden as her posture shifts.  Oh no.He grabs her hand, “Darling?” He cautions.Chloe’s eyebrows go up and her piercing blue gaze almost physically pushes him backward.God watches, fascinated, as the most powerful, and possibly fearsome, of his creations bows his head, releases her hand and steps away.  “Of course,” Lucifer murmurs and steps away to sit at the piano.This is grand.The detective steps closer and jabs God in the chest, “You are a miserable parent.  And an asshole.”  She points at Lucifer, whose dark eyes sparkle with mirth in the dim light of the club, “You abandoned your son.  You HURT him.  You let him believe you didn’t care at all.  What the Hell is WRONG with you?”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rainey657](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainey657/gifts).



> With thanks to Rainey657. Never thirst.
> 
> Title from Joan Osborne. Also a nod to REM's "I Believe"
> 
> Practice, practice makes perfect  
>  Perfect is a fault  
>  And fault lines change

God sits back on a couch in Lux and takes a sip of scotch.  He nods slowly in answer to his son’s declaration and says nothing while Lucifer fingers the piano.  “And what was her reaction?” he finally asks.

Introducing a human to The Divine is always a dicey proposition.  When his son explained he exposed himself to his therapist, Linda Martin, his father was concerned over the outcome.  Turns out the woman simply needed time to process.  And some help from a demon, of all things.

The last time an Earth-bound, lesser Divine was brought into the know regarding their true identity, things went...poorly.   The poor soul attempted to force what they felt was their Divine mandate on the masses and many people died.  They didn’t understand they were simply to live their lives as an example.  Performing small acts of selflessness.  Feed a homeless person here, put a bad guy in jail there.  That sort of thing.

Justice is always a tricky one because it’s never alone for long.  

Justice begets Hope.

Another sip of scotch seems in order.

Lucifer smiles softly, “It went surprisingly well, actually.”  The smile grows playful, “She didn’t even shoot me.”  A more structured tune streams from the piano for another minute before he continues.

“She...” he pauses as his throat yields to his emotions, then coughs before continuing, “she was concerned I was in pain.”

His father nods quietly, “Of course.  If I may....has she....decided what’s to be done with you?  Here on the Earthly plane, at least?  She’s allowed that, you realize.”

“I do,” comes the quiet answer.  Lucifer takes a drag off his cigarette and exhales slowly, “But she doesn’t.”

God’s eyebrows go up, “No?  You didn’t tell her who she is, then?”

Lucifer shakes his head, “I didn’t.  It’s....unimportant, really.  Maybe if she weren’t utilizing her gifts, but as it stands, it might harm her a great deal to know that, so...no.  I don’t think I’ll tell her at all.”

His father nods, “A wise choice, my son.  And what of the child?  You’ll leave that off as well?”

Lucifer’s phone buzzes and he takes a moment to respond before returning to the conversation.  

He laughs, “If I was concerned about her ire over receiving proof of my identity, I’d be doubly so over mentioning there is anything....unusual going on with Beatrice.”  An affectionate smile slides across his face, “She wouldn’t blink before sending me straight back to Hell.”

God chuckles, “I am pleased for you.”

His son smiles, “As am I.  The Detective has agreed to explore a relationship - on human terms, of course.”  Another chuckle, “I have my first date with Chloe and her daughter this evening.  We’re going to do something humans call ‘laser tag’.”

His father smiles, “You know, son, I don’t think this could have turned out better if I HAD directed it all myself.”

Lucifer shakes his head, “It’s not quite done yet, of course.  And...there’s something else you should know.”  He pauses at his father’s raised eyebrows.  “Chloe just arrived.  She asked to meet you and I agreed.”

God’s eyebrows come down, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asks.

Lucifer shrugs, “I don’t see the problem.  You’ve met some of the other humans around me.”

His father nods, “Yes, but they didn’t _know_.”

Lucifer waves him off as they hear the door to the club open and close, “She’s met The Devil Himself and hardly blinked.  How bad can it be to meet _you_ ?  Humans have been socialized to believe _I’m_ the dangerous one.”

Satan watches as the woman he loves walks down the stairs.  It’s clear she’s nervous from the way she’s caught her lower lip between her teeth.  Her right hand strays to her hip out of habit, seeking the comfort of her sidearm.

He steps toward her, his posture casual, takes her hands and leans forward for a peck on the cheek, “No worries, darling.”

His father stands and bows in greeting, “Miss Decker.”

Chloe steps closer, her eyes traveling over God, clearly making assessments.  She cocks her head, eyes narrowed, “So, what am I supposed to call you?”

He shrugs casually, “You may call me Father if you wish.  Or God.  Some call me Yaweh.  Jehovah.  Allah.  It doesn’t matter.”

“I _have_ a father,” she scowls.  “He died.  I’ll just call you God.”

Lucifer snickers as he strolls to the bar to pour her a drink.

The Lord of Heaven nods politely, “Of course.”  He smiles and gestures to Lucifer, “I understand from my son that you are a rather remarkable woman.”

Chloe frowns, “Aren’t you supposed to already know that?  The whole omnipotent thing?”

God laughs, a warm sound that vibrates in her bones, “When looking at an enormous picture, it’s hard to focus on one individual aspect of the image, dear.  And there are billions in this case.”  He pauses to watch as his son solicitously offers a glass to the detective and he smiles, “And it seems you already have one of The Divine to watch over you.”

She blushes as she smiles at Lucifer, “Thank you.”  

She takes a sip, followed by a deep breath.  Then another deep breath.

Then she tosses back the rest of her drink and puts the glass down carefully on the piano.

Lucifer watches the steel in her spine harden as her posture shifts.   _Oh no._  

He grabs her hand, “Darling?” He cautions.

Chloe’s eyebrows go up and her piercing blue gaze almost physically pushes him backward.

God watches, fascinated, as the most powerful, and possibly fearsome, of his creations bows his head, releases her hand and steps away.  “Of course,” Lucifer murmurs and steps away to sit at the piano.

_This is grand._

The detective steps closer and jabs God in the chest, “ **_You_ ** are a miserable parent.  And an asshole.”  She points at Lucifer, whose dark eyes sparkle with mirth in the dim light of the club, “You abandoned your son.  You HURT him.  You let him believe you didn’t care at all.  What the Hell is WRONG with you?”

He nods and looks her in the eye, “You’re right.  I’ve made mistakes.”

Chloe growls, “But you’re supposed to be _perfect_!”

God smiles indulgently, “What, exactly IS perfect, Miss Decker, Hmmm?  Can you tell me?”

She doesn’t back down, “You’re not supposed to make mistakes.  You’re **_God_ ** , for...well...for your sake!”

He coughs a harsh laugh, “Let me enlighten you, my dear, as to the true nature of perfection.  As it was intended, at any rate.  It’s simply meeting expectation.  No more, no less.”

Chloe’s eyebrows come down in confusion, “What do you mean?”

God takes a sip of his scotch then begins to pace slowly, “Think about your relationship with your own child.  Does she have bad days?”

Chloe nods, “Sure.  We all do.”

He points at her, “Exactly.  We. All. Do.  And when she has one of those bad days, it doesn’t diminish her in your eyes, does it?”

She frowns, “Of course not.”

He grins, “She’s still perfect, then, isn’t she?  You expect her to have bad days because you, yourself, have them.  She meets expectations.”  God pauses and looks down at his feet, “It doesn’t seem to meet humanity’s expectation of me, but believe it or not, I also make mistakes.  Have a bad day, if you will.”

He cocks his head, “Sometimes those mistakes are not a problem.  Like monotremes.”  He points to his son, “Blame _him_ for that one.  It was intended for them to be a normal mammals and give birth.  But he was ranting about something, distracted me, and...oops.  They lay eggs.”

“Sometimes, those mistakes _are_ a problem.”  God takes another sip, “When you see other parents who are hard on their children, how do you feel about that?” he asks.

Chloe shrugs, “I get angry at the parents.  They need to try to understand their children a little more.”

God’s eyebrows raise in question, “Adjust their expectations, perhaps?”

The detective pauses, her eyes widen slightly and she cocks her head while she thinks.  “Yeah.”

He sighs, “I’m here, now, because I’m trying to correct my earlier mistakes.  Adjusting my expectations, if you will.”

From his seat at the piano, Lucifer raises his glass to his father.   _Well-played._

Chloe’s scowl returns, “But you’re still an asshole.”

Lucifer chokes on his scotch and doesn’t even try to be hold back his laughter.

God finishes his drink and sets the glass down before turning back to the presumptuous human in front of him.   _Conversations with Justice are never boring,_ he smiles inwardly.  “In what way do you mean?” he asks.

“All this crap people do to each other.  Murders, rapes, hatred.  Kids get hurt and die.  Cancer.  Explain all that.  Aren’t you supposed to be watching out for us and stuff?” she demands.

He shakes his head, “Something my son and I have in common is a refusal to interfere with free will.  It is inviolable.  Sacred.  The things humans do to each other, while sometimes horrible, are the result of free will.”

Chloe growls and jabs him again, “That’s bullshit.  There are horrors.  Atrocities.  You allow them to happen.”

God scrubs a hand over his face, “It’s true.  And humans do terrible things to one another.  I can’t be everywhere.  And times when I’ve tried to intervene...things only get worse.”  He gives her an arch look, “Not many humans can handle speaking to me or my son without going insane.”

She huffs angrily, “Plenty of people have done a bit more than just _speak_ with your son and not gone crazy.  I recently interviewed enough of them to fill the precinct.  They were all pretty happy about it, actually.”

Lucifer chuckles from his piano bench.

God shakes his head, “But they don’t truly _know_.  Or Believe.  I promise you, Miss Decker, if I walked outside, gave someone cause to Believe, then started talking to them, they’d go insane almost immediately.  And possibly die.”  He sighs heavily, “My ability to directly interact is quite limited, I’m afraid.”

Chloe walks to the bar and grabs a bottle to pour another round.  Taking another sip, she glares at Lucifer’s father.  “Fine.  You’re not as all-powerful as we thought.  I can live with that.  What about cancer?  The bad shit that happens to people that have nothing to do with free will?  Children are _born_ with cancer, God.  Explain **_that_ **.”

The Lord of Heaven’s face falls and he nods quietly, “That is a fair question.”  He looks over to his son, eyebrows raised, _How do I answer that?_  Lucifer shrugs and gestures, _Tell her the truth._

“It’s a...um....design flaw,” he replies softly.

“What?!” she hisses.

“An error in the human design.  Your “DNA,” I believe your scientists call it,” he responds quietly.  “The dark side of the coin that facilitates your rapid evolution.  Sometimes this flaw is revealed or exacerbated by some of the things you humans do to yourselves or the environment, but the flaw is there regardless.”

“Like smoking or pollution,” she responds.

He nods, “Yes.  But to your point about the children, Detective, I...am sorry.”

“Can’t you just FIX it?” she demands.  “Just...wave your hand and...?”

God shakes his head, “Not without destroying millions of years of progress.  And stopping the evolution that is yet to come.  No.”  He takes a deep pull from his glass, “However, I have enabled scientists to make discoveries to help.  To....fix it on a timeline that is sympathetic with human biological development.”

“How long will that take?” she asks quietly.

He shakes his head again, “I don’t know.  The timeline is different for each disease.”

Lucifer rises from the bench and walks over.  He rests a gentle hand on Chloe’s shoulder and gives her a gentle squeeze.  “Are you done chastising my Father or shall I make some popcorn?”

She blushes as she looks up at his smirk, then she looks at God, “Alright, so maybe you’re not entirely an asshole.”  She narrows her eyes, “You seem like any of the rest of us, actually.”

God offers another polite bow, “Opportunities for growth are not a limited commodity, my dear Chloe.”  He gestures to indicate the three of them, “There are plenty to go around.”

She nods as she leans to the side to affectionately bump into Lucifer, “He’s a really good guy, you know.  Keep an open mind, though.  He can be hard to manage sometimes,” she chuckles.

Lucifer’s eyes widen and he sputters, “Oh, so you manage me, now, do you?”

God laughs and winks as he raises his glass to hers, “Trust me, my dear.  I’m well aware.”

Chloe clinks her glass as she shares a laugh with him while Lucifer rolls his eyes.

“Bloody Hell,” he cheerfully grumps.


End file.
